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In 2021, the consumption of antibiotics is on the rise again in France, especially among children under 4 years old. Public Health France has issued a warning.
The consumption of antibiotics, which had fallen in France at the start of the Covid pandemic, rebounded in 2021, according to an annual study by Public Health France, published on Wednesday November 2. Antibiotic consumption increased by some 5% in 2021, after a 17% drop the previous year. The greatest change in antibiotic prescriptions is observed in children under 4 years of age.
Sam, 10 years old, has a very sore throat and a fever. A sample will determine his type of angina “to know if it is bacterial or viral, to know if we are going to put antibiotics or not”Explain Raissa Brule Pepinpediatrician. VShe rapid throat test is not done by all doctors. “Faced with the pressure of emergency cases (…) the ease, it is true, is sometimes to put the child on antibiotics”continues the pediatrician.
With the return of winter infections, it is mainly worried parents who insist on antibiotics, even though in the majority of cases, angina is viral. Public Health France warns of the risks of overconsumption and recalls that taking antibiotics is never harmless.